Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas

Wow, it’s about to be April and Easter is just about here. Are you ready?

If you’re like me and don’t want all holidays to be about fun-sized candy, you’ll need to find other items that fit neatly into Easter eggs and Easter baskets so your kids can enjoy the traditions without all of the sugar.

I’ve found that I need to snatch-up decent-sized plastic eggs early, otherwise stores are left with just the junky little eggs that only fit candy. Now that I have good eggs, I store and re-use them year after year. I keep a few huge eggs on-hand that came with other items special for items that don’t fit in the regular eggs. Here are some ideas (yes, they are girl-heavy, we have 2 girls) for Easter egg fillers. I do include one token candy item, partly because I need something to snack on while I prep eggs & baskets ;-).

Non-Candy Easter Egg Fillers

Items that fit in standard-sized eggs:

Lip Balm

Hair clips/bows

Rolled socks

Smaller matchbox-type cars

Small character figurines

Rolled or cut sticker sheets

Small costume items (like the gloves above)

Nail polish (if you’re brave)

Legos

Water (or regular) balloons

Pro-tip: remove items from packaging and remove tags so you won’t have to do this on Easter!

Items the fit in extra-large eggs:

Crayons

Mini Play-dohs

Larger character figurines

Bath bombs

Rubber duckies

Vegetable seed packets

For added egg-hunt fun, try color-coding eggs. Each child has a color (or colors) to search for. This is especially helpful for larger age differences so older kids can have a more challenging hunt while young toddlers can follow a low-lying trail. It’s adorable to watch older siblings help younger ones when they aren’t in competition for certain eggs. This year, I’m placing a golden egg in each basket with a note from the Easter Bunny inside. It will instruct the kids that since they are big kids this year, they have a special challenge to complete by finding only eggs in their designated colors. One child will be hunting or pink & yellow eggs while the other searches for blue and orange. There will also be green a few eggs that are fair game. This also helps so each child can get items specific to their own wish-list.

Then for the basket, stores always have specials this time of year. I like to use spring-themed items and maybe another theme as well. This year it’s My Little Ponies. I couldn’t resist (plus, there were great deals to be had). Our baskets contain items that didn’t fit into eggs and that are personalized. Since we are going on a second egg-hunt right after our family egg hunt this year, we’re keeping it simple and not using the larger eggs that we have used in previous hunts and are instead putting these items into baskets. I always remove packaging, tags, and wrappers so everything is ready to go, with the exception of the blind bags that my kids are into.

Compulsive crafter, connoisseur of shiny things, author, real estate Broker, designer, and mom. My mind is always spinning with ideas on how to create beautiful, functional spaces and things. Jane of all trades, master of many. After designing my first home at 20 and becoming a general contractor at 23, I've since created complete custom home spaces as well as couture gowns, crystal-adorned shoes, and more. I don't take no for an answer because there is always a way.